Rescued From Despair
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: Garnet's been feeling down for quite awhile, is there something-or someone-that can help her? / ZidanexGarnet fluff


Garnet stopped outside her chamber door, hearing the words of Steiner with enough interest to keep herself from dozing off. "Steiner, please, I wish to rest."

The man in the armor gave a salute, "Yes, Your Majesty." He obediently walked off while his comrade Beatrix stayed by Garnet's side.

"Steiner's lecture bore you, Your Majesty?" Beatrix asked with some humor in her voice. Steiner talking on how he alone quelled the commotion at South Gate was not something to hear about. In fact, it was Beatrix herself that played the main hand in fixing his problem. Though she knew this she was never one to gloat about her accomplishments, Beatrix was a proud soldier.

"No, it didn't. I just..." Garnet had been quiet since Beatrix and Steiner had returned, and this was so unlike her to the point where it worried Beatrix.

"Something wrong, Majesty?"

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about, but thank you for asking," Garnet said, opening the door to her chamber, "I wish to rest, I'll call for you should the need arise."

Beatrix was in the process of bowing her head as the Queen went into her room and lightly closed the door behind her.

Garnet immediately sighed in complete boredom. Excitement seemed to be ignoring her as of late despite everything that had been going on in the last few days. She went and saw her Uncle Cid and his adopted daughter Eiko in Lindblum, then went and saw Doctor Tot in Treno, and finally she went and saw a special performance in the Lindblum theater. After each of those events she seemed to have lost all interest in everything. So, maybe she thought a nap would help her in this situation, and that seemed like a good idea in her mind. And each time she had hoped to see Zidane, but he had failed to show up each time.

Taking the silver crown from her hair and the large pendant from around her neck, Garnet placed the two pieces of her royalty on her make-up table and took a brief look in the mirror before she sighed again. Zidane, her lover, and a man of...well, not so respectable job skills, had last been seen a couple weeks before. Ironically enough he had been with Garnet that night when he spent some well deserved time with her.

She walked lightly, carefully avoiding tripping over the skirts of her dress as she got to her balcony deck. She had recently moved her room to another area of the castle where a larger marble deck about thirty feet or more below her. While it as an unexpected move from tradition, Garnet believed that it was her decision and felt it was more than necessary. It overlooked a garden where the rose vines went up the tower past her balcony, which gave it a unique look.

Leaning on the marble railing with her hands, Garnet remembered a passage from a book she had read recently. Knowing that she was alone she recited it out loud, _"'The sun falls slowly from the sky, the maiden wonders where her dream is, that elusive dream that hides while she chases it. Like children at play, she runs after her dream even until she would fall asleep. Yet, she desires the dream all the more.'" _

She sighed once again and closed her eyes.

She opened them just in time to hear a voice calling out to her.

"Oh my sweet Dagger. Such a sorrowful look, it does not suit you at all."

Hearing her old nickname, Garnet looked behind her first before looking down on the deck below. Sure enough, there he stood. Hands on his hips, his Genome tail slowly swaying back and forth, and a smile as bright and cheerful as the sun on his face. Zidane then waved his hand to Garnet and he noticed her smile right away.

Needless to say, this was the best moment of the day for the Queen and she grew excited when Zidane quickly scaled the wall and reached Garnet's balcony. When he reached her, he decided to show off a little and casually sit on the railing, "Sorry for being gone so long, Dagger-"

As soon as he put his feet on the floor that Garnet ran into his arms, embracing him like she had not seen him in ages. Well, truth be told it had been a couple weeks since they last saw each other, though Zidane would say it was his fault since he was in Lindblum under orders from his boss. And when Baku gave you orders you didn't slouch off. Though it was not the first time Zidane had done so he needed the gil for the trip to Alexandria and he had to suffer for it. Hard for a thief to be in love with a Queen of a large kingdom, but Zidane gladly took each blow dealt to him to be with his Queen.

More so the other way around.

Garnet buried her face in Zidane's shoulder, and he made out the words, "I missed you..."

The thief put his arms around Garnet, one of his hands running through her long ebony hair, "I feel bad whenever you're miserable like this."  
"You better be," Garnet replied, trying to sound threatening in a playful way while there was some truth in her voice.

Liking her sense of humor, Zidane chuckled, pulling himself away from the Queen, "How can I help you out of this then?"

Garnet grabbed Zidane by his hands and pulled him into her room, "Spend some time here with me."

Zidane followed her lead, and he took a seat on her bed, "I can for a bit, I'm kind of here on business. 'I sorta kinda ditched Tantalus in town and it won't be long before they see that I took off.' Zidane thought, not too worried about that though, his full attention is with his beloved Dagger.

This bit of news made Garnet feel a bit bummed out, and she sat down heavily on her bed next to Zidane. The two made eye contact, and Garnet knew that they had little time. She got as close to his as she could, right to the point where her shoulder was against his. "Zidane, please do something for me..."

Without hesitation, Zidane answered, "Anything, Dagger. Just say it, and I'll do it." He meant every word of it.

"Hold me in your arms, for as long as you can."

Not one to let a lady down, let alone the love of his life, Zidane was quick to oblige. He shifted as he put the girl on his lap, she rested her head against his shoulder while he put his arms around her like she asked. Zidane understood what she felt for him, he really didn't like seeing her like this but with what he did for a living and for who she was there there was little time they could find for each other. Still, it was moments like this that they both had to treasure while they could.

And a simple gesture of affection like this made Garnet feel better already.

As the two sat there, reveling in the splendor and peace that was each others embrace, Zidane leaned his head on hers and slowly rocked back and forth, as if waiting for something to happen.

And sure enough, the sweet sound of Garnet humming that very familiar melody filled the air. The song that they both knew was theirs and theirs alone.

Not wanting to interrupt her, Zidane heard her whisper the words into his ear-

Neither of them noticed that Beatrix had opened the door and was now standing in the doorway with her arms crossed but smiling. Her queen was happy right now and she had no intention of ruining her moment.

However, had she left when she saw them Garnet wouldn't have panicked like she did when she saw Beatrix standing in the doorway. She gasped and stood straight up while Zidane got up as fast as she did. Garnet's cheeks were beet red and she tried to use her hands to hide it, while Zidane was nowhere near as flustered, instead scratching the back of his head, unsure of what kind of trouble he was probably in.

Beatrix was amused at the two teenagers reaction to her presence, but she waved it off, "Sorry to interrupt, but when I came to check on Her Highness I didn't expect her to have an unexpected visitor."

"Yeah well...I was in town and thought I'd drop by," Zidane explained in a cool manner. Even though they couldn't see it, Zidane hoped that Beatrix wouldn't yell at him in front of Garnet.

"Well, seems like you've raised the Queen's spirits...as well as her heart beat," Beatrix said with a light laugh. "And Zidane, I appreciate that."

Glad to know that she was thanking him instead of shouting, Zidane nodded once and turned to Garnet, "Well, I better be heading back to town. The gang is probably noticing my absence by now."

Oh how the Queen hated that, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. "Will be back soon?"

"Oh yeah, don't worry." He gave a look to Beatrix, "And I'll let you know in advance, okay?"

The general nodded in approval.

Garnet put her arms around Zidane's neck and held him tight, and Zidane put his hands on her hips. The Queen knew that by doing this it was going to be extremely hard to let Zidane go but she really needed to hold him again, not knowing when he'd be back to see her again.  
Zidane knew her like the back of his hand, and he made sure to say assuredly, ""Don't you worry, I'll be back. I promise."

The queen still felt that uneasiness entering her mind but she tried to get her heart to convince it otherwise. She knew he'd be back again, but she also felt that if she let him go...

At that moment Zidane gave the Queen a kiss on her cheek. Garnet, surprised but blushing again out of happiness, smiled as Zidane started to walk to the balcony. He turned to her as he reached the railing, "Don't fret, Dagger. I always keep my promises."

Garnet put her hands behind her back, "Thanks Zidane."

"WHAT!?"

Zidane slapped his forehead when Steiner appeared in the Queen's chamber, his jaw nailed to the floor.

"That's my cue to vamoose," Zidane giving a wave to Garnet before jumping over the rail. Such a show off. Landing on his feet, Zidane took off running just as Steiner collided with the rail and Garnet caught up to him. She watched as Zidane ran off into town and felt her old spirits returning.


End file.
